More Related Content
What's hot
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (20)
Similar to 18 session-Fair Housing, It's Your Right
Similar to 18 session-Fair Housing, It's Your Right (20)
More from txsilc
More from txsilc (14)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
18 session-Fair Housing, It's Your Right
- 1. Fair Housing It’s Your Right Morgan Morrison Austin Tenants’ Council March 31, 2014
- 2. What is one thing you would like to learn today?
- 3. What do you want in a place to live?
- 5. Federal Fair Housing Act Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 together are called the Fair Housing Act. The FHA prohibits housing discrimination based on certain protected classes.
- 6. State and Federal Protected Classes Race Color National origin Disability Religion Sex Familial status
- 7. Local Protected Classes Age Sexual orientation Gender identity Marital status Student status
- 8. Covered Dwellings All multifamily (5+ units) dwellings; Senior living facilities including nursing homes; Homeless shelters; Group homes; Mobile home/RV parks; Cooperatives; Time-share properties; Single family homes when they are owned by private persons and a real estate broker is used.
- 9. Prohibited Practices Refusing to rent or sell housing; Setting different terms, conditions, or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling; Providing different housing services or facilities; Steering; Lying about the availability of housing; Advertising in a discriminatory way; Threatening, intimidating, or coercing someone who is exercising his/her fair housing rights; Making housing otherwise unavailable.
- 10. These housing practices are prohibited if: The occur because of the victim’s membership in a protected class; or They have a discriminatory impact on members of the protected class.
- 11. Enforcement Fair housing laws are enforced through either: An administrative complaint process at the city, state, or federal level. The complaint must be filed within one year of the discriminatory act; or Private legal action may be brought in state or federal court. The lawsuit must be filed within two years of the the discriminatory act.
- 12. Remedies Remedies may include: An order to a housing provider to complete a transaction or grant occupancy; Monetary compensation (for actual costs, compensatory and/or punitive damages, and attorney’s fees) Orders to correct past unlawful practices and/or affirmatively correct the effects of such past practices.
- 13. Disability Under the FHA The Fair Housing Act defines a person with a disability as someone with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, someone who has a record of such an impairment, or someone regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities include such functions as walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, working, etc.
- 14. Disability Under the FHA A disability can be temporary or permanent. Persons with temporary disabilities are protected against discrimination in the same way as are persons who have permanent disabilities.
- 15. Additional Protections for People With Disabilities Multi-family housing built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, must meet basic accessibility guidelines; Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations/reasonable modifications if the change is necessary to allow the resident with a disability equal opportunity to use the property and its amenities.
- 16. Accessibility Requirements 1. Accessible Entrance on an Accessible Route 2. Accessible Public and Common-Use Areas 3. Usable Doors 4. Accessible Route Into/Through Dwelling Unit 5. Accessible Light Switches, Electrical Outlets, and Environmental Controls 6. Reinforced Walls in Bathroom 7. Usable Kitchens and Bathrooms
- 17. ADA and Fair Housing Act It is very important to understand that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not the same as the Fair Housing Act. The ADA applies to public accommodations and typically only covers the leasing office of an apartment complex.
- 18. Reasonable Modifications Modification means a change to a structure that will allow physical access to a person with a disability. This requirement is applicable to the interior of a disabled person’s dwelling as well as public and common use areas of an apartment complex. Such modifications may be requested at any time; it is not necessary that they be requested at the beginning of a tenancy.
- 19. Who pays for the modification? The Fair Housing Act makes clear that such modifications will be the financial responsibility of the person with the disability making the request (except in the case of public housing or subsidized housing).
- 20. Reasonable Accommodations Accommodations refers to a change in rules, policies, practices or services, that a housing provider makes to allow a disabled person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Such accommodations may be requested at any time; it is not necessary that they be requested at the beginning of a tenancy. In most cases, an individual’s medical records or detailed information about the nature of a persons disability is not necessary for this inquiry.
- 21. What is reasonable? A request for reasonable accommodation is considered reasonable if the accommodation: 1. Will not cause an undue financial or administrative burden to the housing provider; 2. Will not cause a basic change in the nature of the housing programs available; 3. Will not cause harm or damage to others; and 4. Is technologically possible.
- 22. What is fair housing testing? Testing is an investigative method for gathering information that can be used to assess an entity’s compliance with fair housing laws. Testing simulates an interaction with a housing provider or other entity to collect this information.
- 23. ATC Fair Housing Program Successes Chenitha Burleson v. Henry Carter (sexual harassment; $275,000 settlement) Gilbert Pigg v. Le Marquee and Monticello Apartments (race; $23,750) Michael McCrory v. Cynthia Brettschneider (disability; settlement pending) NFHA, NAD, and ATC v. Bell Partners (disability; $150,000 settlement)
- 24. ATC Fair Housing Program Successes Reasonable accommodations: reinstate Section 8 housing voucher; release from lease without penalty; change rental due date; allow assistance animal in “no pets” complex; reserve accessible parking space; transfer to ground- floor unit; etc. Reasonable modifications: ramp or grab bars installed; bathroom renovations; etc.
- 25. Get Involved Learn about your fair housing rights. Report housing discrimination so it can be stopped. Fair housing testers needed! Call 474-7007 x 104 or e-mail erika@housing-rights.org.
- 26. Help in Texas Austin Tenants’ Council 512-474-7007; www.housing-rights.org Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio 210-733-3247; www.myfairhousing.org Greater Houston Fair Housing Center 713-641-3247 North Texas Fair Housing Center 469-941-0375; www.northtexasfairhousing.org
- 27. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- What do you look for in a place to live?
- When housing discrimination occurs, your choice about where you want to live is taken away. This matters b/c location – where you live determines so many other opportunities – access to schools, jobs, healthcare, low crime, transportation, even grocery stores.
- The Fair Housing Act is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in April 1968, one week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The FHA protects your right to live where you choose, free from discrimination based on personal characteristics. Under the Fair Housing Act, these personal characteristics are called protected classes. Who can name some of the personal characteristics that are protected from discrimination?
- Race – black, white, or other;Skin color – darker/lighter;National origin is a person’s ethnicity – Hispanic, Asian, Indian, other;Disability – mental or physicalReligion – includes atheists;Sex -- male, female. Sex discrimination includes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is defined as deliberate or repeated unsolicited verbal comments, gestures, or physical contact that creates an offensive environment, or when sexual favors are sought in return for housing;Familial status – presence of children under 18, pregnant female, and people securing custody of children under 18Not all personal characteristics are protected…some treatment can be unfair but it is not illegal. Smokers, tattoos, etc.
- Some cities have added additional protections in their local fair housing ordinances. For example, in Austin, a city ordinance offers additional protections including marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or status as a student. San Antonio offers additional protections based on age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and veteran status. National movement to add LGBT, marital status, and source of income as additional protected classes. In 2012, HUD issued a rule prohibiting discrimination based on LGBT in federally subsidized housing. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York proposed the HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal) Act of 2013, which would add LGBT and martial status as protected classes nationwide. The bill is currently pending in US Congressional committee.
- The Fair Housing Act covers most housing. A “dwelling” is broadly defined as you can see from this list.A few exceptions include owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units and single-family homes that are sold or rented without the use of a real estate broker.
- Discrimination is prohibited in the rental, sale, financing, appraisal, and insurance of housing. Several actions or behaviors are illegal under the FHA.Terms or conditions – wheelchair user/extra deposit.Different housing services or facilities – families with children segregated to particular building or banned from using property’s amenties; Steering is a practice whereby a real estate agent makes a practice of showing white clients homes in predominantly white neighborhoods and minority clients homes in predominantly non-white neighborhoods.Advertising – expressing preference or limitation “Christians only” “no kids” – a housing provider who is otherwise exempt from the law can lose exemption if advertise in discriminatory wayHomeowner’s insurance discrimination is an example of “making housing otherwise unavailable.” Redlining by insurers (refusing to insure homes located in minority neighborhoods) is a significant barrier to equal opportunity in housing. Many lawsuits have been filed against insurance agencies based on this provision of the Act.
- The Fair Housing Act covers intentional discrimination and unintentional discrimination. Examples of disparate impact or “unintentional” include: overly restrictive occupancy standards (for example: limiting the number of people who can occupy a dwelling to fewer than 2 people per bedroom) or zoning (prohibits more than X number of unrelated people from renting together (group homes) or income requirements (such as requiring that a person work X hours/week (disability) or criminal history policies that are far-reaching.
- Austin Tenants’ Council and fair housing organizations located in Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas
- Remedies – retrofit in building that does not meet accessibility requirements
- Regarded as having impairment….
- If break leg…
- Change in rental due date; grab bars or ramp
- The requirementscover residential multi-family dwellings ready for first occupancy after March 13, 1991.Requires covered buildings with an elevator to make all units in buildings accessible.If a building with four or more units has no elevator and will be ready for first occupancy after March 13,1991, these standards apply to all ground floor units. The Fair Housing Act does not require fully accessible units. Although the requirements apply to a broad number of dwelling units, the Act's design and construction requirements are modest and result in units that do not look different from traditional units but can be easily adapted by people with disabilities who require features of accessibility not required by the FHA.
- Public accommodations (restaurant, movie theater, etc.)If the buildings are not covered by the Fair Housing Act's design and construction requirements (for example, because they were built for first occupancy before March 13, 1991), the Fair Housing Act's general requirements of non-discriminatory treatment and reasonable accommodations apply. If a rental office is not accessible, a person with a disability must still be accommodated. In addition, rental offices that serve the public must comply with the access requirements of the ADA, Title III (that is, if they are constructed for first occupancy after January 26, 1993), they must be constructed to comply with ADAAG; if constructed before that date, architectural barriers must be removed if doing so is "readily achievable." 36 U.S.C. 36.401. A housing provider is covered by Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act if the provider is a recipient of federal financial assistance. Section 504 requires that "programs and activities" such as a rental office be accessible. When physical accessibility cannot be provided, access to rental office services must be made available in some other way.
- For example….
- Exception for public housing and subsidized housing – including LIHTCs. TDHCA has regulations that state LIHTC properties must comply with Section 504 of Rehab Act…
- For example….
- Testing is a simulation of a housing transaction – like secret shopping. Housing discrimination today is much more subtle than it used to be. “A smile, a handshake, and no vacancy.” This subtlety is why testing is so important to fair housing programs. Testers help uncover evidence of discriminatory housing practices that a person on his/her own probably would not see. Tests are conducted to determine if there are significant differences in the quality and quantity of information provided. Without the data testers provide, very few fair housing complaints have enough evidence to warrant legal action. For someone brave enough to register a complaint of discrimination, testers make a significant difference in moving a case forward to achieve a just outcome. Being a tester is an important job — we, and our clients, rely on testers to be objective fact-finders.
- These results are not typical. Most of our clients are not getting multi-thousand dollar settlements, and that’s really not what they want. If you ask clients what they want – don’t want this to happen to anyone else. That idea is what motivates me – I don’t want anyone to be denied access to housing and other opportunities based on some personal characteristic.
- One of the greatest challenges in stopping housing discrimination is the reluctance to report it. Housing discrimination is severely under-reported. HUD estimates that 2 million instances of housing discrimination occurs every year, but only one percent of those instances are reported.